A guide to which sauces go best with which noodles

The dried pasta options at the store can be bewildering. Do you want corkscrews, stovepipes, or little ears tonight? Perhaps a big dish of priest stranglers -- that would be strozzapreti in Italian. There are reasons that pasta exists in so many forms: It's partly regional (Italian cities big and small always seem to have a specialty pasta) but it's also practical: Certain pastas are best eaten with certain sauces. Others work well with a wide variety of sauces, for instance the workhorse pastas, like spaghetti.

The general rule is that delicate noodles are for delicate sauces while heartier noodles are for heartier sauces.

When pairing pasta with a sauce, remember that:
Round Long Shapes:  like Angel Hair or Spaghetti give a fuller taste to sauce. Examples of these sauces would be olive oil based, fish based, or Carbonara.  
Flat Long Shapes: Fettuccine and Linguine can withstand more robust, thicker sauces.  
Baking Shapes: Lasagna, Manicotti and Jumbo Shells, these famous shapes are known for their generous consistency and heartiness, allowing for use with the most robust and highly flavorful sauces and the most sumptuous and creative fillings.
Tube Shapes: Penne, Rigatoni, or Ziti require full flavor sauces. Combined with ridges make them ideal to retain sauces on the entire surface, inside and out!
Soup Shapes: Pastina, Orzo or Ditalini are known for being served in children's meals across Italy. Pastina is very delicate and great with light vegetable, meat or fish-based broth soups. Orzo and Deialini are wonderful in heartier soups like pea or lentil and great in cream-based soups.
Specialty Shapes: Farfalle or Campanelle are used best when you want that touch of elegance. These pastas are used best with cheese or béchamel sauces.

Some of our interesting pastas

Straccetti (Twisted Rags)
Delightful cut that is rapidly becoming one of our customers' new favorite, this innovative shape features a grooved rectangular pasta strip that is coiled. Will hold its shape even after cooking, this pasta can be served with any sauce.


Linguine Arcobaleno
These beautiful rainbow linguine are not just pretty to look at, but also exquisite with any sauce. Made in Gioia del Colle, Bari, in the Puglia region of Italy. Great for that unexpected dish at your next dinner party, also makes a thoughtful Hostess Gift.


Trofie Genovesi
This handmade northern Italian pasta from Liguria is a classic. Trofie Genovesi is traditionally served with Pesto alla Genovese. Dumpling style texture and delicate quality makes it ideal to bring out the delicate sweetness of the basil in pesto.  See Traditional Pesto alla Genovese included in this month's recipe section.

Cornucopie
Shell shaped pasta with a twist is truly reminiscent of a cornucopia. The added frilly edge make it even better for holding more liquid sauces. A fun shape that is good for any sauce. Made in Puglia, southern Italy.

• 1 lb. Trofie Genovesi  
• 1 fresh potato
• 1/2 cup string beans

• Pesto prepared as follows:

• 1 bunch sweet basil
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts (toasted)
• 4 shelled walnuts
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated Pecorino cheese
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 cup il Fustino Frantoio extra virgin olive oil
• salt, pepper

Method

1. In a food processor blend Pesto ingredients until uniformly creamy.
2. Cut potato into thin slices.
3. Bring a pot of salt water to a boil and add the pasta and the potato.
4. Cut the string beans into pieces and steam.
5. Add beans to the pasta and potato 2 minutes before the pasta is done.
6. Strain but save some salt water.
7. Add the pesto and mix.
8. Add some of the salt water if too dry.
9. Serve immediately.